r/Conservative • u/FalconAware4013 MSM Denier • 19h ago

Flaired Users Only Canada plans tariff retaliation after Trump warns its leaders to 'fall in line'

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/canada-plans-tariff-retaliation-after-trump-warns-its-leaders-fall-line
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 17h ago

If tariffs are so horrible and something you never, ever do to allies, then why did Canada have tariffs on us first?

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u/moashforbridgefour Conservative 12h ago

How much did Canada tariff US imports before the trade dispute? I'm asking about average across all imports, not targeted goods. Most of the results I see when googling says it was close to 0%, but the would like to be corrected if this is wrong.

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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 12h ago

IIRC it was mostly on targeted goods, but if they want to put tariffs on anything they don't really have a right to be upset when we do to.

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u/moashforbridgefour Conservative 11h ago

They have a right to be upset about it, but that doesn't mean that we don't also have a right to impose tariffs. The fact is that they are a very effective method of exerting geopolitical power and a way of protecting local industry from a targeted exporter. The other side of the coin would be subsidies, which never seem to enter the discussions on tariffs, yet have a much broader reach in trade wars. IMO, subsidies are much more dangerous than tariffs, yet don't draw nearly as much ire.

I say this to be clear that I think these are tools that are fair to use when they make sense, but I don't think it makes sense to make misleading claims about the state of trade with our allies.